Scarf
by SaltyJak
Summary: Her friends... They had to be wrong. It was just a birthday gift, there wasn't any symbolism behind it, right? There couldn't be. Just because he was the first and only person to give her something on her birthday outside her family... It didn't mean anything... Did it?


A/N: So, for those of you not living in New England like yours truly, we just got hit with a 'blizzard'(or so they're calling it). The buses weren't running, so I couldn't upload this, if they were, it would've been up Tuesday. Also, I feel like I should mention that until things warm up around here, I'm gonna keep uploading fics about winter and stuff, like this one!

* * *

Vicki got out of her car and shivered. "So much for 'It never snows in Southern California!' Brr..." she zipped her coat fully and wrapped the dark green scarf she wore tighter around herself.

"Excuse me, Miss? You can't park here, this spot is reserved for-"

Vicki looked at the sign in front of the spot that her car was currently parked in. A sign that read: 'Principal Garrety'. She then glared at the person talking to her. A one Principal Garrety. Who quickly shut up and apologized as he realized who it was that he was talking to.

"I- um... you know what? I'm just gonna take the sign down and put up a new one so it's reserved for you instead." the principal then nervously walked off, clearly shaken at how close he had just come to death.

Vicki stopped at the stairs to the building she had parked in front of, then looked up at the sign. "Dimmsdale High School... Blech..." she climbed the stairs up to the front doors and opened them.

Much like her personality outside of school would suggest, Vicki was feared at school, which brought about an odd sort of respect for her from her fellow students. Most knew to steer clear of the red-head, and those who didn't quickly learned their place. She was by no means the princess of Dimmsdale High like Trixie was the princess of Dimmsdale Junior High, but that was more because nobody tried courting her, and all the boys saw her as more of some creature that would destroy them than the attractive girl that she actually was.

This didn't mean that Vicki didn't have any friends, on the contrary, some girls actually seemed to be attracted to her foul mood, though whether they wanted to be friends, or something else, was not something that Vicki concerned herself with. She came to school to get an education(even if her slacker lifestyle seemed to contradict that) and that's what she concerned herself with; nothing, and no one else.

"Hey Girlfriend!"

Vicki sighed into her open locker as one of her 'friends' came running over. This one went by the name 'Lisa' and wore predominantly dark clothing, a stark contrast to her unusually upbeat personality. "Lisa."

"I told you, call me Lis, with a hard 'E', sounds way better!" Lisa giggled.

"I'm gonna go with Lisa." the girl reminded her of someone... one of the twerp's friends. _"What was her name again...? Veronica? Yeah... That was it. __She's like that blonde friend of his, minus adding 'like' five times to every sentence.__"_

"How can you be so mean?" Lisa replied in mock-sorrow, fake tears threatening to spill out. "I just want you to call me by my nickname... It's a sign of... affection, to show that we're friends!"

"And what would you call me as a nickname?" Vicki slammed her locker door closed, her jacket and backpack put away, though her long green scarf remained on her shoulders. It was no longer wrapped around her head and face though, meaning her voice was no longer muffled.

"Um... Vicki... I guess?"

"Right, so if your name is one letter shorter than mine, why do you need a nickname?"

"Well, I- Because... we're friends!" Lisa leapt at Vicki and hugged her.

Vicki stood for several seconds in silence, letting her friend take in the moment, seeing as how there wouldn't be another one for well over a month. "Stop hugging me."

"Oh! Sorry..." Lisa released Vicki and backed off. "Forgot how much you hate that..."

"Keep it up and people are gonna start saying we're an item..."

"Me and you? I dunno... dontcha think we're a little too different?"

"Ever heard the saying 'Opposites attract'?"

"Well... I'm not into girls, no offense."

"_Could've fooled me..._"

"But if I _was_... Well, you'd be at the top of my list."

"...I'm gonna assume that was a compliment."

"Yup! So how's babysitting going?"

"Fine. I continue to instill a unique sense of fear into the Twerp squad."

"And Tootie?"

"Only if she misbehaves."

"You playing favorites with your sister?"

"Wouldn't you in my position?"

"I might."

"YOU TWO!" a girl suddenly appeared dressed in a stereotypical schoolgirl uniform and yelling commandingly at Lisa and Vicki. "Are gonna be late for class." her voice was now significantly more inside-friendly.

"I know, how tragic it would be for me to miss homeroom." Vicki picked at her ear and wiped her finger on one of the adjacent lockers. "And Theresa? Next time you scream in my ear? I'm gonna punch you in the throat."

"Noted." the girl known as Theresa was dressed in a white button-up shirt and a dark blue skirt, a ribbon adorned the collar of her shirt and she kept her hair in a ponytail like Vicki. "But we really should get to class."

"Nerd." Vicki complained, but followed her friend nonetheless. "So, how are you two doing in the babysitting department?"

"Great!" Lisa exclaimed. "Kimmy is just a little angel, and Trevor even picks up after himself without my prompting... Oh! And Gerald is-"

Vicki zoned out and heard little more than 'Blahs' escape from her friend's lips as she went on and on about how 'sweet' and 'nice the kids she babysat were. Much as she... enjoyed... her companionship, Lisa had no spine. Being mean to the kids she babysat just didn't seem to be in her. "Still think being nice is the best way to raise them, huh?"

"It is! The kids I babysit have never given me any problems. They're all little angels!"

"Right, 'til they hit their teen years and start rebelling, then it'll be too late to put the fear of you into them."

"Now Vicki, we can't all be mean to the kids like you. I'm having just as easy a time as you are."

"Theresa? Surely _you_ aren't being... ugh... _Nice_ to these kids, are you?"

"Why wouldn't I? The kids tell their parents how great I am, and I get a nice little bonus when they come home. Seems like being nice is the way to go."

"You're both poor delusional girls... You want these kids to respect you, to fear you! Liking you just means that they'll grow up thinking they can weasel their way out of trouble, they'll think you're pliable and can be convinced to let them off the hook when they screw up! No, being mean like I am will allow you to have these kids do whatever you want, something you two really ought to think about."

"If only we all saw the world the way you did Vicki, I'm sure it would be a better place." Theresa remarked sarcastically.

"Hey, I'm just telling it like it is. For example: You know the Twerp?"

"You call all the kids you babysit 'Twerp'..."

"No, their names are Twerp, Baldy, Braces, and Twerpette, my sister. Anyway, so the Twerp is playing a video game when I get to his house, but he sees me and hands it over without me saying a single word! Then I sit down and tell him to get me a drink, and he does it! Just like that! This kid... I tell him to do whatever, and he does it without any protest, Hell, without even thinking! Like it's instinct or something!"

"He's that scared of you?" Theresa asked in wonder.

"Yup! I got my own personal butler when I go over there!"

"Sounds more like a slave..." Lisa remarked with a pout.

"Hey. I may not pay him, but 'slave' is too far. I know my limits, and I know not to take advantage of him... For the most part."

"What exactly did you do to get him to be like that?"

"Oh! That's the best part!" Vicki giggled to herself. "Nothing! I mean, I've been kinda mean to him in the past, but when I came in that day, I didn't have to do anything! He just started being subservient like that!" Vicki snapped her fingers for emphasis.

"And you're sure that it's because he's afraid of you?"

"What else could it be?" the trio had at last reached their homeroom and sat down together.

"Maybe-"

"Oh! I- Er... sorry Theresa, I just wanna ask this before I forget." Lisa rubbed the back of her head sheepishly as she realized she was interrupting her friend.

Theresa shrugged. "No problem. I can wait."

"Thanks!" Lisa turned to Vicki. "So what's with the cool scarf?"

Vicki raised an eyebrow and looked down at her scarf. "It's... a scarf? I don't see what the big deal is..."

"Well... where'd you get it?"

"It was a gift for my birthday."

"From who? Got a secret boyfriend or something?"

"Wha?! No! It was from the Twerp..."

"The one you said is all subservient and junk?"

"Yeah..." Vicki fingered the fringe on the end of the scarf. "Guess my wardrobe of green and black hasn't gone completely unnoticed."

"Can I see it real quick?"

"I... guess so... Just- don't drop it or anything, the floors around here are disgusting." Vicki unwrapped the scarf from around her neck and handed it to her friend.

"Wow... this thing's longer than you are tall! Hm... did you take the tag off?"

"No, there was no tag on it when he gave it to me, you know you're supposed to take the tag off when you give someone a gift."

"So... did he give you like, a gift receipt or something?"

"Nope. Just a gift-wrapped box containing the scarf."

"Oh... oh wow... You know what that means?"

"That he was very clever and didn't want me to return it?"

"Let me ask you... do you like it?"

"Well... it's green. And it's nice and warm, I'm certainly using it a lot..." Vicki ignored the fact that she was also unconsciously wearing it everywhere she went.

"He didn't buy this, he either had someone make it specially for you, or he made it himself."

"What now? The kid's like, ten or something, how would he know how to knit a scarf? Better yet, why would he have someone make it for me if he's terrified of me?"

"Maybe he's not?"

"Oh no, he's definitely afraid of me."

"Well then maybe he's not _just_ afraid of you."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Ugh." Theresa interrupted. "You two are just gonna beat around the bush all day, so I'll say it. This 'Twerp' of yours clearly must like you, in addition to being afraid of you."

"Huh?! How did you come to _that_ conclusion?!"

"It makes sense." Lisa piped in. "You've said yourself that you spend the most time with this kid, maybe he's developed some kind of... Stockholm's Syndrome type crush on you?"

"But he's-! He's too young to like me!" Vicki was by now blushing quite red at the notion that of all the guys in Dimmsdale that could like her, it had to be _him_.

"I know, which is why, no matter how sweet he is, you have to nip this in the bud and tell him it's not gonna work. Giving him false hope is a little too cruel, don't you think so?" Lisa handed the scarf back to Vicki, who wrapped it back around herself.

"Yeah... I have to babysit him tonight anyway."

"Well, good luck with that."

"Hmph."

Vicki found that for the rest of the day, she was in a pretty sour mood. Her friends weren't about to bring her out of it, nor was the welcome break from schoolwork during lunch, and not even the last bell of the day could do anything to cheer her up. The worst part was that Vicki couldn't figure out _why_ she was in such a bad mood.

She was now driving her car over to the Turner household to watch Timmy... Or no, the Twerp. That's what she meant to think. The Twerp.

She pulled into the driveway, noting the fact that his parents were already gone, and merely sat there for a few minutes. She contemplated(several times) leaving and not facing him and... whatever else might come to light. She eventually worked up the courage to get out of the car and walk up to the front door. She knocked, then immediately wished she hadn't. She _never_ knocked, Vicki was fine with barging in wherever and on whoever she wanted, caring little for what she might catch them in the act of doing, but now... she felt like a swoony fourteen year old visiting her crush...

"Blech..." she gagged at the thought of being... 'swoony'.

The door opened after a few more seconds, revealing Timmy. "Oh... Hey." Timmy's eyes shifted back and forth a bit nervously.

Had he always been this nervous around her? No... She would've noticed it if he had... Right?

"You... like the scarf?"

"Hm? Wh- Did you say something?" Great, now she was zoning out too...

"The scarf." Timmy pointed to the article of clothing in question. "You... like it?" It was pretty clear to Timmy that she did indeed like the scarf. Why else would she be wearing it? In truth, he had considered wishing for it, but made the split-second decision to wish that he instead knew how to knit. After all, a gift that you make yourself is much more sentimental than one you just go out and buy, right?

Vicki walked past Timmy and into his house. She almost seemed to fidget slightly as she crossed her arms while looking away from him. "Did... did you make this?" Vicki again fingered the fringe of the scarf.

"I um..." _"Great, of all the times to feel all nervous, it has to be now?!"_

"Yeah...?" Vicki turned around to face Timmy now. She couldn't back down, and she wasn't leaving without some answers.

"Yes. I m-made it."

"_Okay... he's more nervous than me, so there's that..."_ "Why?"

"Well... it was your birthday."

"Mm-hm... But I've never gotten you anything for your birthday, so why'd you get me something for mine?"

"Call it a... Peace offering? I wanted to give you something that you'd actually use and like."

"But why did you _make_ it for me? Why not just buy a scarf at the dollar store and give me that?"

"I wanted... I wanted it to be s-special, y'know? Buying something for someone is easy, but making something... It's... it means more, doesn't it? Do you not like it?"

"I didn't say that. I'm just trying to figure out why you'd make me a scarf."

"I told you-"

"Bull. Shit."

Timmy winced and shrank back at her foul language and raised voice.

"I mean..." Vicki realized she actually felt bad for what she had said. Here was a kid, who most definitely feared her, suddenly trying to be brave and be nice to her. The situation was the equivalent of a knight trying to befriend a dragon, rather than slay it. Only this knight had come bearing a scarf and little else. "Sorry. I..." Vicki sighed and instead moved to the couch to sit down.

Timmy remained rooted to the spot in front of the door, the cold air still coming in since he didn't close it.

"Get the door, would you?"

Timmy did as he was told and closed the door, then walked over to the couch to sit next to Vicki. A bold move, but not the first time he had done it either. Then again, the look he was currently getting from Vicki would make you think it _was _the first time.

It took Vicki several seconds to remember that he had sat close to her several times of late, she must've just brushed it off as unimportant then. But now... what Lisa had said made a little more sense to her. "Thank you, by the way."

"Huh?"

"When you gave me the scarf... That's the first time someone outside my family has given me anything. I was so surprised... or maybe... Maybe I took it for granted. I shouldn't have, especially now that I know you made it for me... So I wanted to say thank you."

"It's ah... It's no problem." Timmy twiddled his thumbs. He had certainly felt nervous in the past, but now... this was a whole new level of nervousness.

"So... I have a question I'd like to ask you."

"'Kay..."

"You... you like me, don't you?"

"..."

"I don't know why I asked... it's pretty obvious now. I just never connected the dots, guess I was a little too oblivious..."

"I-" Timmy gulped. "I know I'm too young for... us. But... I wanted you to know that I like you. I wasn't sure what the best way to go about it was... I was so afraid that if I just came right out and said it that you'd shoot me down, so..." Timmy wiped at his eyes.

Vicki gave Timmy a sad look. She could tell that he expected her to say something. Likely along the lines of 'We can't be together', but who knows? Maybe he expected her to laugh in his face, call him names, and tell all his friends that he had a crush on his babysitter. She could do that... She probably _should_ do that... But she knew that if she did, he was probably going to cry, he seemed the type to wear his heart on his sleeve. As for her... Well, she was never one to follow the rules, nor was she the type to do what was 'right' or 'expected'... So instead she did something that she knew he wouldn't expect.

Timmy froze as he felt Vicki slide over next to him and wrap her arms around him. "V-Vicki?"

"You _are_ too young for a relationship... especially one with me..."

Timmy looked up at her, he almost looked to be on the verge of tears as he realized Vicki was about to shoot him down, yet take pity on him at the same time.

"But..." Vicki leaned closer so her nose brushed against his. "Maybe I don't care about that. Maybe I don't care what my friends think, about how wrong it is, how old you are... Maybe all I care about is the answer to this question: Do you like me?"

"Y-yes."

"Good." Vicki closed the distance with a quick peck on Timmy's lips. "I like you too."


End file.
